#Battle of Knockdown

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1504 – Battle of Knockdown | Battle of Axe Hill.

The Battle of Knockdoe took place on 19 August 1504 at Knockdoe, in the Parish of Lackagh, Co Galway, between two Anglo-Irish lords—Gerald FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, and Ulick Fionn Burke, Lord of Clanricarde — along with their respective Irish allies. The cause was a dispute between Maelsechlainn mac Tadhg Ó Cellaigh, King of Ui Maine and Clanricarde. The major…

[gijoe-forever]

Knockdown, Blaster, Dodger, Maverick and Blocker

[superfreakycat16]

Oh how I miss you

(aka: knockout humps his pillow and pretends it’s his dead partner; he cries about it)

little note beforehand (little rant): personally, one thing i find underrated/underused is angst and smut meshed together without it being something like non-con, harmful to either partners, or anything along those lines

I JUST NEED TFP KNOCKOUT TO CRY IT OUT WHILE FRAGGING A PILLOW, IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK-

anyway, this is a long one, buckle in

VALVEPLUG AHEAD, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Knockout arrived at his quarters after an especially long shift, multiple vehicons having been injured in a recent battle and gave him a lot of trouble, if only Breakdown were around to help. But no matter, he was home now and could finally relax… Breakdown. How long has it been since he…? He sighed deeply as he stood over his berth, moonlight shining on it from the bedside window, built specifically for two mechs, one big and one small. “Breakdown?” Knockout asked to the air, “Are you still there?” No answer… as usual.

He sat on the edge of the soft berth and held his helm in his servos, resting his elbows on his knees, hunching over as the moon outlined his frame from behind him. He sighed deeply as he thought about his conjunx, his beautiful, beautiful conjunx… Primus really does take the best sparks early. Doesn’t he? Knockout lay on his back on the berth, staring up at the ceiling as he folded his servos across his chassis, oh how he missed being held by Breakdown. His servos tracing Knockout’s frame as he lay cuddling him, how he trailed them from his chassis to his waist to bring him closer, and when he kissed his neck cables so tenderly. Knockout mimicked Breakdown’s actions with his own servo, trailing his it down his chassis, to his abdomen, then to his inner thigh, attempting to mirror his conjunx’s tender touches.

“Please…” He whined, turning onto his side, shuffling into the soft sheets beneath him, optics slipping shut for a second as he caressed his thigh-plates before opening them half-lidded and eyeing Breakdown’s extra large pillow. He grabbed it and brought it close to him, clutching to it tightly before running his servos over the soft material, relishing the softness Breakdown always loved about it, Knockout didn’t always like soft things, but he had come to appreciate it a lot more nowadays. He closed his optics once more and traced the crevices and the dips in the pillow, imagining each one were part of his conjunx, when they kissed and how his larger derma slotted perfectly with his, how their servos intertwined so perfectly, how he was meant for him was perfect…

Knockout brought his legs up and hooked them around the pillow, slotting it between his legs, the softness rubbing up against his modesty panel oh so gently, like how Breakdown… Knockout let out a soft whine as he clutched the pillow tighter, grinding his hips against the comfortable cushion once, imagining his panel rubbing up against Breakdown’s valve, how perfect it was. Every time Knockdown brought him to berth, he always insisted on being the one to spike him, and Breakdown being the faithful conjunx he was, he always let him. “B-Breakdown… please…” He asked, as he’d done so many times before, and as so many times before, he swore he heard his partner whisper, “Yes, of course my dear, always…”

He turned so he was laying on top of the pillow, still clutching to it as he positioned his hips against where Breakdown’s would be, “I-I need you… please,” he asked his lover’s memory, “Just for tonight?” The wind from the open window responded in a voice just as gentle as Breakdown’s, “Yes my dear, please, I need you too…” Knockout nodded and started to move his hips against the plush cushion, a sigh escaping his derma as he started to rock against the memoir of his lover, “Thank you…”

Knockout started to vent heavier as he rolled against the soft surface, letting his panels snap open and his valve breathe, the feeling was more divine now, it felt just like… Breakdown. He shut his optics and ground against the pillow gently, his anterior node rubbing against the firmer sewn corner of the cushion, creating much needed stimulation, “Ngh, Breakdown~…” Knockout whined, he wanted to go faster, but he kept his slower pace, savoring this fleeting moment with his racing mind as imagined his conjunx in the pillow’s place. He took a deep vent as he ground his hips deeper against his lover’s memory, trying to press into Breakdown’s valve with his, they way they sang when their nodes made contact. But no such noise came from below. No sounds other than the rustling of the fabric blessed his audials. The familiar sound of metal against metal and the wet slap of tender, love filled nights were absent, the squish of the pillow was nothing like Breakdown’s sturdy frame either… it was not the same. It’ll… never be the same.

Knockout panted openly as his hips slowed to a staggering stop, mouth hanging open as he choked back a sob, trying to hug the pillow tighter, trying to get a sense of resistance, a sentiment of the unmoving sense of Breakdown’s frame, but none came. His conjunx always liked soft things, but it only left a sense of longing as Knockout realized the only sense of resistance came from his own tight grip on the cushion. “O-oh Primus…” He whined as he started to tremble, trying to hold back his tears as they pricked his closed optics, refusing to open, scared he’ll lose the illusion that Breakdown might be there, even though he knew the answer to that dashed hope. “Please… I need you so bad…” He whined, as he held onto the pillow impossibly tighter, a few stray tears escaping as he clutched it like a lifeline, “Please, don’t leave me…”

He started to move his hips again against the cushion more frantically, chasing the feeling of his node being stimulated and the press of his dripping valve against his partner’s pillow. Knockout needed to be close to Breakdown again, the loneliness was getting too much, reduced to a whiny mess as he fragged the daylights out of a pillow, tears streaming more freely as he moved his hips quicker and quicker. “H-hah! Breakdown…” He stammered out a cry to his conjunx, hoping he would hear a sound in return… but none came.

He picks up speed, frame trembling as he started to cry, tears flowing down his cheeks and hiccuping as he clutched to the pillow impossibly tighter. “B-Breakdown… oh…” Knockout whimpered out as he continued to hump the cushion in earnest, fat tears rolling down from his optics as he sobbed. Why was Primus so cruel to him? To have stolen his conjunx away from him and leave him longing like this? He let out a spark-shattering wail, something that could be heard halfway across the Nemesis, as he cried harder and harder, optics squeezing shut as they burned worse, hips still thrusting frantically into the pillow. “B-Break- Breakdown!” He yelped, his impending overload sneaking up on him faster than expected as he ground his hips and clutched to the cushion tighter, desperate for release, contact, anything from his conjunx.

“Oh, my love…” His valve throbbed worse as he was nearing his overload, humping the pillow faster as the berth creaked underneath, thrusts puncturing each of his words, “Ugh! Ngh! B-ah! Breakdown… p-please!” Knockout half-sobbed, half-moaned as he chased the familiar feeling of his oncoming overload, something that used to be shared in bliss, was now something to lament, a wail breaking the string of desperate noises he would be praised so sweetly for, coming out as a sorrowful sound, “Ugh! Ngh-BREAKDOWN!” His overload came in overwhelmed spurts, his empty valve spasming as it shot out pink, translucent transfluid, staining the pillow below him. “Ngh~… oh, m-my love… please…” he stammered, slowly coming down from his high, clinging to the now-soiled cushion, panting hard and heavy, broken sobs cutting through the deep vents.

“Mngh… oh,” Knockout’s processor was so fuzzy, optics lulling open to look at the cushion as he regained his sense of self, his lonely, aching self. “Breakdown… I, I love you… I love you so much…” He kissed the softness of the pillow, only to scowl and flop onto his side, settling into the berth as he kicked his conjunx’s pillow away with a frustrated cry, the plush of the cushion was not like Breakdown at all, it would never be like Breakdown. “Why… oh god, why..?” He asked no one, tears rolling down his cheek slowly, following the consistent trail from before he scrambled to retrieve the stained pillow, bringing it up to his olfactory sensors and taking a deep vent. It was all too familiar, the smell of Breakdown and the after-notes of interfacing, it was so comforting, yet so betraying at the same time. He wanted his partner so badly, he wanted to hold him again, to talk to him again, to laugh and cry and reminisce with him…

Knockout held the pillow closer to his slightly trembling frame as he relaxed into the berth, shuffling into the sheets below as he closed his optics, sore from crying and vocalizer overused from sobbing and whining, pleading one last thing to the cruel spirit of Primus before slipping into an overwhelmed recharge, hoping that Breakdown would answer…

“Please… I need you to hold me… just once…” And the wind from the window complied, caressing his shaking form as it flowed into the room, the crisp night cooling his overwhelmed frame, the moving omnipresence of the air holding him one last time, “Thank you…” 

[vividdreamer]

Rolan: Did you just sit here and say that my daughter looks miserable so maybe we should put Kalani in her place??

Durge: No I never said that

Rolan: Yes you most certainly did

Durge: No I didn't, DINGBAT,

LISTEN!

Durge: —I said, "Brooke, is your moth–"

Rolan: Get your finger

out 🫵

OF 🫵

MY 🫵

FACE 🫵

Durge: 👹👹👹

Halsin: GIRLS OUT THE ROOM,

Rolan: 👋💥🦱✊️

Halsin: GO OUT THE ROOM!

Gale: GET OUTTTTT—

*Yelling, Chaos*

Halsin: OUT OF THE ROOM. GIRLS—

Durge: *Gets up close*

Rolan: 🦱🖐 Get off of me!

HALSIN: OUT THE ROOM. OUT OF THE ROO—

Rolan: 👹 GET AWAY FROM ME 👹

Halsin: GIRLS. OUT OF THE ROOM 👉 RIGHT NOW.

Durge: *Just having a staring contest with Rolan at this point*

Rolan: 📈 WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE????

Durge: You.. are.. nuts.

Halsin: Out of the ROOM.

Astarion: 😧 *not helping* 🫢

Halsin: NOW. Outoftheroom.

Arabella: *Crying*

HALSIN: ALL OF YOU, OUTOFTHEROOM!

Arabella: *Sobbing* I'm sorry~

Durge: She's He's crazy.

Rolan: No I'm not crazy,

you're eating my face!

Halsin: *Grabbing Durge* Gotta get out of the room. Get out the room now. Absolutely now.

[While Durge and Halsin are out]

Astarion: I-I was not looking, I was over this way!

Shadowheart: That's ridiculous.

Rolan: You know what? FUCK—

[Later]

Wyll: *Explaining to Isobel* We've had knockdown, dragged out, screaming battles before. But we've never been physical with one another.

Reference > skip to 4:33

[smashedpages]

In 1999, superhero fans got something they always wanted to see -- a knockdown, drag-out battle between the Hulk and Superman, and one drawn by Steve Rude, to boot! The Incredible Hulk vs. Superman was written by Roger Stern and inked by Al Milgrom, and it came out in that late-1990s period when Marvel and DC were regularly bringing their characters together for epic confrontations.

[southern-gothic-comic]

Page 31

Next 💜 Back 🖤 First

(Author Notes)

Panel 1: They observe a very impressive pumpkin being shown off by a proud halfling farmer of about the same height.

Laudna: You could make a lot of soup with that.

Imogen: Mm-hmm. Lotta soup.

Farmer: nice to see young folks appreciatin’ the good things in life

Panel 2: They look at some prize-winning horses.

Laudna: You should have entered your horse! I’m sure she would have won. Flora is far prettier than all of these ones.

Imogen: We did use to do that. Flora even got a second-place ribbon once. Nowadays we don’t really like drawin’ attention to ourselves, though.

Panel 3: They walk around arm in arm. A traveling katari “wizard” is juggling Dancing Lights. A “mind reader” supposedly from Ank’harel is impressing people, sparking indignation from Imogen.

Imogen: Oh, so it’s okay if he does it?

Laudna: I don’t think he’s even from Ank’harel.

“Mind Reader”: Ah, yes! The Three of Wands!

His Thoughts: small-town buffoons will believe anything

Small-Town Buffoon: well I’ll be

Panel 4: In the foreground, we see a child playing with a simple sillgoat marionette. Laudna seizes Imogen’s arm in delight.

Laudna: Imogen! That goat! I must have one!

Imogen: That li'l puppet? Bet we can find one around here . . .

Laudna: For Pâté! He can ride it into battle!

Imogen: All right, let’s go see if we can find Pâté a steed.

Panel 5: On the midway they find a section of games, including a “dragon race” with lizards which some children are eagerly observing and a Three Billy Goats Gruff-themed bottle knockdown game with the coveted goat puppets on display.

Oldest Child: Blue! Blue!

Middle Child: Green! Green!

Youngest Child: (looking at Laudna) A ghost??

Carnie: (nervously) . . . Try your luck, little lady?

[soniccouncilclub]

What is Sonic Council: Part 2, The Game

Alright, gamers! It's time to get into it! In the last part of this blog, I talked about the origins and history of Sokko Seitokai: Sonic Council in Japan's Gamest magazine, but it's time for the main event: the game!

So! As we previously discussed, Gamest seemed to have a real thirst in making Sonic Council a bit of a thing. Seeing as it was more or less their own original work, they had a bit of a go at pushing Sonic Council into a franchise, with its comic, a couple drama CDs, a light novel, and, of course, the game! Sokko Seitokai: Sonic Council! On the prestigious and ever silly Sega Saturn.

Sokko Seitokai was developed by prolific developer SIMS, a joint venture between Sega and Sanritsu, that developed a plethora of games for arcades and consoles, and published by Banpresto , and released in January of 1998.

Although I don't know too much about its development, I do know it was developed with the budding Japanese FGC is mind. At least so the dubious internet claims! The team reached out to professional, or at the very least what amounts to professional in the 90s, players to oversee and give feedback to the game and its systems. They worked closely with players, holding regular pre release tournaments to help the devs get insight into what needed to be twisted and tweaked. It was a fairly novel way to make a fighting game back then! But Gamest was a magazine by gamers for gamers, and so help them god, their game would be too! Interestingly, there's even an official Gamest scoreboard in the game itself which displays the game's characters performance and win/lose rates across these pre release tournaments.

(From top to bottom: ? ? ?/Shibata, Kumiko, Aya, Ai, Yuko, Rika, Ishida, Mika, Kato, Naoko) (Do not trust these numbers for character tier >:3)

Sadly, not much footage of Sonic Council from Japan exists that I can find, save for an odd tournament or two in the 2000s or 2010s of questionable quality. And so it is as well, just because Gamest has some real actual gamers on the line for its development does not necessarily mean those primordial gamers exactly knew what they were doing. This was the 90s after all. Games were played primarily on vibes and not so much the cold hard frames. Regardless! As far as this cool connoisseur's concerned, they and their many chefs were cooking with this one, gamers.

Of course, the game itself centers around the eponymous Sonic Council and its various friends and foes. It pulls primarily from its source material, including moves and abilities featured themselves in the manga. The only original character is the dubious Space Boss Shibata, who, I think, is essentially just Jotaro Kujo if Jotaro Kujo had Kazuya Mishima's move set and a laser. Which kicks ass. Now this is of course because the game follows its own original little side story, as the Space Boss puts on the usual suspect for any good fighting game story.. some kind of tournament! Naturally, our local battle freaks can't say no to a good time.

As for the gameplay itself, it's a six buttons game with your traditional light, medium, heavies and throws, dash attacks, and all that jazz. Naturally, each character has a handful of unique specials and supers at their disposal. The game largely borrows the magic series school of fighting game design a la Darkstalkers. A fairly simple enough system where generally speaking you're able chain light attacks into mediums into heavies,

For example, Naoko's c.lk > c.mk > c.hk is a pretty safe bet! Or if youre looking for something a lil sassier you can hit Ai's d.lp > lk > mp > mk > hk.

Though! It depends on the character which actual routes are possible. Pushback and the like tend to complicate the general rule of thumb there. As for defensive options the game has a tech roll on knockdown to either roll left or right so long as you hold a direction, and the Sonic Shift, a move that cancels out of block stun and rolls out behind your enemy. The game has some generous meter build up, called the yaruki gauge, that you can use for either the sonic shift, or for the one of your Testuwan Special Moves, aka, your supers!

One of the fun little quirks of this system is being able to often cancel a super into a super, with which how meter you build, is never out of the question. Though absolutely sinister, you can cancel Ai's 3 hit shoryuken super into her unblockable demon on any 3 of the hits if they've been blocked. It's heinous, devious, and the sweetest dopamine hit I've had in ages. This game has sauce. it's got all kinds of wild moves and wacky interactions. Legit, the way it feels, the way it plays -it's really fun. There's something to it. The way characters interact with each other is just so insane sometimes it's impossible not to have to have a good time. It is equal parts tightly designed and evil and chaotic. Genuinely, it's a lot of fun. Every time we play it's grins from ears to ears. The pop offs are crazy. It's a good game!

Had Gamest not gone defunct in 1999, one wonders how far exactly this project would have gone! In a perfect world, we would have 10 more highly controversial much maligned versions of Sonic Council in which no one can agree which the best one is and like one really good one like some kind of Asuka 120%. Also we could have had that sick as hell claw girl with the stripey socks who's just like me fr fr. What a world we'd be living in. It would fix me. But alas! What we're left with is one good ass game regardless! An interesting little oddity -a piece of a history and a perfect capsule in time. Give it a shot! Its pretty neat!

And there it is, gamers, part 2 complete. From this point hence we'll be focusing on just the progress of sprite rips, scans, screens shots, and so on. Just the beautiful nitty gritty. Thanks for coming along, and until then, take care!

[moonshynecybin]

PEDRENZO TOXIC RIVALRY YEARS FORCED PROXIMITY CURSE. TELL ME MORE

YAYYYY okay so. for dani and jorge it HAS to be after one of the most intense races of their lives. don’t ask me which I DO NOT KNOW ! i’ll leave it up to you to decide if one fits specifically but it was CRUCIALLY a knockdown drag out fucking fight. high effort. satisfying. one millionnnnn overtakes. and eventually they BOTH podium, and the race was so bananas —kinetic and tense and somewhere HOT— that they feel like the blood in their veins is legitimately made of GASOLINE— and they HATE each other at this point, but on days like this the space between them is also filled with this like. singular electricity that makes them feel like NOTHING else. the emotional release of a hard won battle… all of those endorphins panting shiny with sweat sticky with champagne… critical awareness of where the other is at all times, leftover from the track… and then they DO decide to shake hands on the podium and there’s. a moment. a spark. something a bit different than static electricity, but not far off. and they don’t think anything of it until after the race, when dani is about to get whisked away by honda to debrief— and jorge shouldn’t even notice when dani walks away but he DOES, he can FEEL it, and something prickles and begins to TEAR. jorge feels some deep instinctual part of himself seize up with panic, and theres a shout from dani’s direction and suddenly jorge’s body is moving without his permission and he’s got dani’s face in his hands and big brown eyes are looking up at him and they are fucking ANGRY. and it’s then that he knows something is very very veryyyyy wrong.

and off they go to the motogp doctors™️ ! who are like. yep! you’re cursed ! (magic ass universe where looney tunes shit like this occasionally happens to riders who ride the edge of rivalry a little too hard. rosquez have gods biggest storm coming for them in a few years.) so you have to stay as physically close as possible to each other for a couple of months!! it’ll hopefully pass. these curses don’t effect in track stuff really so you’re are both cleared to ride 🤗👍 and PEDRENZO are both like. you have to be FUCKING kidding me. dani sitting there picking at his fingernails COMPLETELY shut down and jorge just posture tight frown dialed to ELEVEN tiny little stormcloud over their heads :) and they’re holding hands because it’s the only way they don’t feel like live ants are under their skin :) THEN the doctor is like. and you guys should probably share a bed :)

and it’s rough at the beginning! they are both VERY stubborn and while dani remains the people’s princess i think when he was younger he had the capacity to just. shut the fuck down when he was pissed. close off. and jorge is NOT shy about how uncomfortable he is about the whole thing so he’s dialed the cuntress factor allll the way up. and there’s no quick fix! it’s just time! and dani is also SELF ADMITTED !!! not a patient person. SO i IMAGINE sitting next to jorge in bed and imagining himself attempting to suffocate in his most evilest of enemy’s tits is FUN but is also not a SOLUTION. action oriented guy methinks. loves solving a problem hates when the only solution is WAIT. so it ends up being this escalating arms race of belligerent horny tension where they’re literally living in each other’s pockets holding hands touching ankles sleeping in the same bed and being TORTUROUSLY aware of the other’s body the ENTIRE time. every SLIVER of skin contact i feels like a brand. passing dani in the kitchen reaching for cereal and jorge brushes a hand on dani’s waist to lean and he feels CRAZY. INSANE. that kind of stuff. and eventually i think dani (NOT PATIENT !) fucking snaps and just. jumps him. might as well make the fucking lemonade if you have the goddamn lemons !!

the REAL problem os after the curse gets lifted (of course. the second after they fuck.) when they are USED to each other’s presence and have begun to realize how much they COMPLIMENT each other and suspect (creeping at the edges of awareness) that this mighttttt be love. but they know the other was only around for months because they were literally cursed. and now they are free to go back to the status quo. where rivalry is expected. what do they do…

[paperanddice]

Hound of the Night

Horse sized hounds bred by the shadow fey to function as hunting companions and guardians, the hounds of the night are more intelligent than simple animals. This allows them to hunt and track with even greater efficiency than wolves, as they have all the dog's instincts with higher reasoning capacity, and in tandem with their ability to follow a scent trail through short distance teleportation they are nearly impossible to escape. Other fey figures have begun gathering their own hounds of the night, and the Lord of the Hunt himself is intrigued by their abilities. Winter wolves are found within the ancestry of the hounds of the night, though much of the physical indicators of this heritage have been bred out. Their frost breath and resilience to cold remains however.

Inspired by the Tome of Beasts 1. This post came out a week ago on my Patreon. If you want to get access to all my monster conversions early, as well as access to my premade adventures and other material I’m working on, consider backing me there!

Pathfinder 2e

With its huge skill boost for the right situation, the hounds are much higher level opponents in a chase sequence. This keeps them relevant to scenarios involving high level masters, such as the Lord of the Hunt, who won't bring the hounds into battle against high level foes but does have reason to get them present in the actual chase (even if his own tracking skills are generally greater than the basic hounds).

Hound of the Night Creature 5 Large Beast Fey Perception +15; darkvision, scent (imprecise) 60 feet Languages Elven, Shadowtongue (can't speak any language) Skills Acrobatics +12, Athletics +14, Intimidation +11, Stealth +12, Survival +13 (+27 when Tracking) Str +5, Dex +3, Con +2, Int -1, Wis +2, Cha +0 Blood Scent The hound of the night can move its full speed while using the Track action, and can follow trails through ethereal movement and teleportation, so long as the creature teleports fewer than 10 miles. Hunting Specialist For encounters involving trying to avoid being tracked, the hound of the night is a 13th-level challenge. AC 20; Fort +11, Ref +12, Will +11 HP 78; Immunities cold; Weaknesses fire 8 Speed 30 feet Melee jaws +14, Damage 2d10+5 piercing plus Knockdown Primal Innate Spells DC 19 ; 4th translocate (at will); Frost Breath [2 actions] (cold, primal) The hound of the night exhales a cloud of frost that deals 4d10 cold damage in a 15-foot cone (DC 21 basic Reflex save). It can't use Frost Breath again for 1d4 rounds.

13th Age

Hound of the Night 3rd level troop [large beast] Initiative: +7 Vulnerability: Fire Worrying Bite +8 vs. AC – 8 damage Natural Even Hit: The target loses their next move action. Pack Attack: The hound of the night gains a +2 bonus to attack and damage for each other ally engaged with the target (max +4 bonus). [Group Ability] C: Frost Breath +8 vs. PD (1d3 nearby enemies in a group) – 7 cold damage. Natural 16+: The target is also stuck (save ends). Blood Scent: If an enemy the hound of the night is engaged with teleports, the hound can pop free from any enemies and move as a free action to engage with the enemy that teleported, or move to be nearby that enemy if they teleported far away. Additionally, skill checks to escape a tracking hound of the night are increased by +5, and teleporting does not make escaping any easier. Group Ability: For every two hounds of the night in the battle (round up), one of them can use frost breath as a standard action once during the battle. Resist Cold 16+. AC 18 PD 16 MD 15 HP 44

To give some hounds that can hunt alongside figures such as the Lord of the Hunt, here's a high level mook version of them.

Lord of the Hunt’s Hound Mook 10th level blocker [large beast] Initiative: +16 Vulnerability: Fire Nip and Tear +15 vs. AC – 35 damage. Pack Attack: The hound gains a +1 bonus to attack and damage for each other ally engaged with the target (max +4 bonus). [Group Ability] C: Frost Breath +15 vs. PD (1d3 nearby enemies in a group) – 20 cold damage and the target is stuck until the end of the hound’s next turn. Natural Even Hit: The target is dazed and stuck until the end of the hound’s next turn. Chase Down: If an enemy engaged with the Lord of the Hunt’s hound disengages in any way (disengage check, popping free, teleporting away), the hound can immediately pop free from any enemies and move as an interrupt action to engage with the disengaged enemy, even if they moved somewhere far away. Only some exceptional situation prevents the hounds from reengaging the target, such as extreme terrain blocking the way or the assistance of an appropriate Icon benefit. Expert Tracker: Skill checks to escape a tracking Lord of the Hunt’s hound are increased by +5, and teleporting does not make escaping any easier. Group Ability: For every four Lord of the Hunt’s hounds in the battle (round up), one of them can use frost breath as a standard action during the battle. Resist Cold 16+. AC 25 PD 23 MD 22 HP 54 (mook) Mook: Kill one Lord of the Hunt’s hound mook for every 54 damage dealt to the mob.

[theterribletenno]

Endymion the Shepherd Warframe

I was genuinely surprised to see Endymion perform so well, handily scoring a joint first place with Macbeth in the first round. Can't seem to fathom what made Endymion work where the old "Duviri Beastmaster" fell short. It must have been the tightness of Endymion's scope, choosing to do fewer things but do them better.

The method for obtaining Endymion and her signature primary weapon the Orpheus is slightly complex. Every time the player(s) complete a Duviri animal conservation, Tamm hearding, or Corrupted Jackal assassination objective they will be rewarded with a Tamm Horn. Tamm Horn rewards are doubled if playing steel path. Players can then exchange their collected Tamm Horns with Mathila in her courtier form at her farm during any spiral other than joy. Mathila's Tamm Horn exchange options are as follows

Endymion blueprint (6 Tamm Horns)

Endymion chassis blueprint (6 Tamm Horns)

Endymion neuroptics blueprint (6 Tamm Horns)

Endymion systems blueprint (6 Tamm Horns)

Orpheus blueprint (4 Tamm Horns)

Orpheus barrel (4 Tamm Horns)

Orpheus reciever (4 Tamm Horns)

Orpehus stock (4 Tamm Horns)

1 Aya (6 Tamm Horns)

Ayatan Hemakara Sculpture (8 Tamm Horns)

Ayatan Zambuka Sculpture (8 Tamm Horns)

Random Riven Mod (10 Tamm Horns, limit 1 per day)

Health: 500 (600 at rank 30) Shields: 100 (200 at rank 30) Armor: 500 Energy: 150 (200 at rank 30) Sprint Speed: 0.9

Passive: Each of Endymion's abilities can be used in one of two ways: tap to cast as a buff for Endymion, or hold to summon one of Endymion's battle Tamms. These two modes are mutually exclusive, if the buff from an ability is activated while its associated Tamm is summoned the Tamm will disappear, and if the Tamm is summoned the buff offered by that ability will be disabled. Each active buff improves damage dealt by summoned Tamms by 10% and each active Tamm increases the intensity of currently active buffs by 10%.

By default each of Endymion's summoned Tamm have twice her max health, half of her shields, and armor equal to hers. The AI behavior of these Tamms is based on regular animal companions such as Kubrow and Kavats. The Tamm's standard attacks deal 100 times 1+X (where X is equal to the enemy's level divided by 10) impact damage with 20% status chance, 20% critical chance, and a 2x critical multiplier. The Tamms also have a special ramming attack with a 15 second cooldown which can be used on enemies that are between 10 and 20 meters away which deals double damage and is guaranteed to stagger the target. Each Tamm has special characteristics that separate it from the others. Summoned Tamms last for 20 seconds or until killed. If a Tamm takes fatal damage there will be a 10 second delay before it can be summoned again.

Ability 1: Michael the Unstoppable, 50 energy (summon) or 25 energy to activate plus 3 per second (buff toggle).

When Endymion embodies the strength of her legendary Tamm Michael she becomes an unstoppable force, recklessly crashing through enemies with ease. While the buff The Unstoppable is active Endymion becomes immune to stagger and knockdown while also dealing 300 impact damage to enemies she runs into with a guaranteed stagger, causing the enemy to stumble away from her.

As a summon Michael's unique attribute is his immunity to status effects, knockdowns, and staggers.

Ability 2: Raphael the Swift, 50 energy (summon) or 25 energy to activate plus 3 per second (buff toggle).

Raphael's agility is legendary as the swiftest of Endymion's Tamms and by embodying him she can borrow this great swiftness. While the buff The Swift is active Endymion's sprint speed & parkour velocity is increased by 30%, and her jump height is increased by 50%. Both of these effects scale with ability strength.

Unlike the other legendary Tamms, Raphael's ramming attack has a minimum range of 5 meters, maximum range of 30, and a cooldown of 10 seconds allowing him to make use of it more often.

Ability 3: Gabriel the Unwavering, 50 energy (summon) or 25 energy to activate plus 3 per second (buff toggle).

Gabriel is one of Endymion's most fearless Tamms, with his tremendous strength of body and spirit he is perhaps most worthy to be hailed as a legendary beast. While the buff version of this ability - The Unwavering - is active Endymion gains 25% bonus armor and regenerates 40 health per second. Bonus armor from this ability ramps up by 5% every 5 seconds, up to a maximum bonus of 50%.

Compared to the other Tamms Gabriel has 1.5x more health, shields, and armor, making him easily the most durable of them all.

Ability 4: Phanuel the Raging, 50 energy (summon) or 25 energy to activate plus 3 per second (buff toggle).

Phanuel's story is told most often of the four legendary Tamms in Endymion's flock, for he was born disfigured, a tragic runt with no horns. The great shepherd Endymion used her unknown powers to heal his deformity and make him strong, giving him not just the majestic curved horns of a Tamm, but making them unbreakable, with a deadly serrated edge. When Endymion enbraces The Raging of Phanuel she gains a multiplicative +150% weapon damage bonus which applies to all of her equipped weapons. This bonus ramps up by 5% every 5 seconds up to a maximum of +200%.

Phanuel's unique characteristic when summoned is his attack damage. Instead of a base value of 100 impact damage Phanuel's tooth-bladed horns deal 50 points each of impact, puncture, and slash damage for a total of 150 points before applying the level-scaling multiplier. Furthermore Phanuel's attacks have their critical and status chance increased from 20% to 30%.

Subsumed ability: Raphael the Swift

Signature Weapons Orpheus: Endymion's signature primary weapon categorized as a shotgun with a held-beam style trigger. The Orpheus is quite different from other beam shotguns, firing only a single beam which deals abnormally high damage in a large spherical blast radius of 6 meters at the point of contact or beam termination allowing it to hit multiple enemies at once. Both of these advantages are offset by its extremely short maximum reach of only 12 meters and its unusually slow ramp-up compared to other beam weapons. Damage ramps up from 15% to 100% over 1.0 seconds when firing. After firing stops for 0.8 seconds, the damage decays back to 15% over 1.5 seconds. The Orpheus also has an abnormally thick beam allowing for easier contact with enemy bodies. To better support continuous fire the Orpheus has a very large magazine offset by a slow reload. Orpheus deals pure magnetic damage with high critical chance and above average critical multiplier at the cost of very low status chance. As Endymion's signature shotgun the Orpheus's damage decay takes 3 seconds instead of 1.5 when she wields it. Pan: Endymion's signature melee weapon, a pair of beastly fists used for barbaric hand-to-hand combat. The Pan fists can be unlocked for the Drifter's use in Teshin's cave in exchange for 50 Pathos Clamps. Doing so unlocks the Pan's blueprint for Warframe use which is crafted using a variety of Duviri materials. Pan has a quick attack speed at the cost of below-normal damage, deals mostly slash damage with moderate puncture and impact, and has very high status chance at the cost of low critical chance and below average critical multiplier. Guarding heavy attacks with Pan perform a double-fisted ground slam, pumping energy into the ground which then erupts upwards beneath all enemies in a 10 meter radius around the wielder. This eruption applies a guaranteed heat status proc and launches enemies into the air causing them to become ragdolled momentarily. There is a 30 second cooldown on this special attack which is reduced by 1 second each time the wielder scores a melee kill. As Endymion's signature melee weapon heavy attacks gain +20% heavy attack efficiency when she wields it.

Closing Notes: Endy's four Tamms are named after the four angels "who stands before God in the Book of Enoch (ca. 300 BC)" Aside from that Endymion, Orpheus, and Pan are all shepherds from legend or myth. Nothing else here is really a big clever Easter egg. The overall idea I was chasing down with this design was a monstrous tank. With all four buffs toggled on Endy is a juggernaut, and with all four Tamms summoned she's a zookeeper. Of course finding your personal favorite combination of buffs and Tamms is where her real core gameplay loop is going to come from. And then I gave her a novel shotgun to pair with that juggernaut playstyle. I genuinely think that Endy has a kit that everyone will use in their own special way and not just enslave themselves to the meta. Also GOD DAMN this is a big wall of text. Do you love the color of the sky type of post.

[raspberryzingaaa]

Just got the toddler to easily go down for a nap which for mom and dad is a knockdown blowout fight that lasts 20 minutes to an hour and i just.... put him down? How do I tell that to my parents when they ask???? "Hey how did it go putting him down i know it's usually a battle?" "Uhm. We picked a new clean shirt, made the bed and tucked him in, got his stuffie, read 2 bible stories and that was it.... sorry"

[alexandriaisburning]

045: Gundam Extreme Vs Force

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The first North American release in Bandai Namco’s Gundam Extreme Vs. series, Gundam Extreme Versus Force was a bizarre introduction for English speaking fans of the series. A Vita spin-off of a massively popular arcade fighter, it brough zero context with it to understand the underlying mechanics, and changed enough about the format to disappoint the small group of Extreme Vs. die-hards that had been waiting for an English release. 

Vs. Force was the first release in the series since early Gundam Vs. titles such as Federation vs. Zeon and Gundam vs. Zeta Gundam, titles from when the series was still developed under Capcom, before the dramatic shift in direction of the Extreme Vs. series. Under Bandai Namco, the series dramatically increased in speed, with a focus on a 2v2 team format, with a high technical skill ceiling, and a large amount of tactical considerations thanks to its massive roster of playable mobile suits. 

The sheer popularity of the series created many imitators, including some from Byking, former Capcom developers who developed earlier entries in the series. A few of these would be localize, but all nuances were likewise lost on the Western audience, who often dismissed them immediately without the Gundam Versus series to contextualize them. 

Key to the Extreme Vs. series is the use of boost, which is used not only to enable fast movement, but can cancel the recovery of various attacks, allowing you to chain moves together smoothly. Otherwise lengthy attack animations can be chained together to pull off rapid fire barrages, or to perform tricky mixups that rapidly shift direction and attack type. 

Once you understand that Extreme Vs. is at its core a fighting game, a lot of the otherwise strange mechanics make sense, such as the mandatory lock on, the restricted attack ranges and homing properties, and the forced knockdowns which prevent lengthy combos and force a reset to neutral. 

Extreme Vs. Force takes all of these existing mechanics and attaches it to what’s essentially a stripped down MOBA, placing its already niche appeal inside another niche. 

Most stages in the campaign take place using this “Force Battle” format, giving you up to 4 teams of 2, and asking you to attack and defend bases. Each base allows enemy squads to spawn from them, as well as Minions, low level enemies that bolster their forces. The base themselves can attack as well, giving it a dynamic not unlike the Tower and Creep mechanics of MOBAs. Killing enemies gives you Force Points, which can be used to activate team tactics that boost stats, revive teams or can be saved up for super attacks. The large scale details are simplified compared to a proper MOBA, but alongside the expansive roster full of unique movesets, it leaves a lot of variables to explore. 

When it comes together, Vs. Force sells the feeling of participating in a large scale conflict. Massive units and warships tower over the field, with a scattering of minions and mobile suits of different performance levels. Machines in Extreme Versus Force are intentionally unbalanced as part of the team building aspect, so the gaps in power naturally sell the difference in military might between the factions. 

The framing narrative achieves none of that. Framed as two AI navigators on a tour of the events of the Universal Century, it’s bogged down with the same empty beats as many Gundam crossover games, with dialogue whose whole purpose seems to be getting the voice actresses in the booth for the maximum amount of time, rather than delivering any meaningful narrative of character development. 

And while the campaign does an admirable job of delivering on its hybrid approach, as it goes on it becomes clear that the most effective strategy is a defensive one, leaving most of your team behind to defend your base, rather than risking a proactive attack. Your teammates are often outmatched in most situations, leaving you as the vanguard for capturing points, without their support. Any other approach generally ends with your base being destroyed before you can stifle the enemy approach. 

This could possibly be remedied by multiplayer, but strangely for both the Extreme Versus series and a portable game, there’s nearly no multiplayer options. Force Battles can’t be played online or ad-hoc, leaving only a post release 1v1 mode with supporting AI partners as your sole option. 

With the right primer and infrastructure, Versus Force could have presented a legitimately compelling alternative playstyle for the Versus series. Instead we got a spin-off of an unfamiliar and complex game, missing the appeal of the larger series, and portable titles. As a standalone piece, it remains compelling, provided you’ve been primed to understand it, but as an introduction to the larger series, it’s a bizarre and mistimed one. 

[therosiestofrubys]

Battle Axes is more or less the same, beyond me trying to smooth it out and the second hit of the MP version now also doing knockdown on hit. Also kept the ability to ladder them up from the LP thru HP versions on hit, which will probably stay unless it turns really bad somehow.

[theanticool]

Ray Ford at the bell! Stops Otabek Kholmatov with 7 seconds left!

Banger fight!!!! Raymond Ford, who was down on my scorecard, battles back with huge pressure in the 12th to stop Kholmatov.

I had Kholmatov winning at least 7 rounds heading into the 12th round (could be argued 8 imo) but Ford was fighting a smart fight after a slow start. Got on the front foot in the 4th and tried to really pressure Kholmatov backwards. Kholmatov's team seemed ok with him fighting off the back foot but it seemed clear it was not optimal for him. Ford wasn't doing much to cut the ring off but was forcing exchanges that had Kholmatov either missing and getting countered. Kholmatov eventually found his rhythm in the 9th as Ford slowed down. He even got back on the front foot, taking a lot of Ford's momentum away. Had a huge 11th round where it looked like Ford had shut down and was really pouring it on. Ford got cut open below the eye (apparently from a head clash) and it just did not look good for him. Then he just started stalking Kholmatov relentlessly in the 12th. Kholmatov, who had not been hard to hit all fight, started breaking stance and getting visibly hurt as he tried to keep up with lateral movement. Eventually he got hit so hard he stumbled back into the ropes and grabbed Ford before falling to the ground. He got up. Ref ruled no knockdown but Ford drilled him again and Kholmatov kind of stumbled as he turned away along the ropes and the ref had seen enough.

Also, never let Bradley talk ever again. Please. Terrible.

Ray Ford is a world champion!

[malleablemusic]

unfortunately, my boyfriend unironically listens to weezer, and has caught wind about this blog. after a month of trying, he has successfully convinced me to use this album for this week's blog. let the record state that i have heard island in the sun before, as aquamarine is one of my favorite movies in the entire world (for anyone wondering, he will now be watching that fantastic piece of cinematic history with me in exchange for this post). anyways, here's my review of weezer's self titled album:

don't let go: 3/5 stars

i love when a man sings "ill be down on my knees" for some reason its just so vulnerable

loving the simp energy he is giving, whole song is just begging so far

this is transforming me into a 14 year old boy with a spiky haircut, learning guitar in my room, suddenly i want to play basketball in my driveway

his voice is very classic, especially for the music genre, but doesn't feel unique enough for me

photograph: 2.9/5 stars

i always love clapping in songs, especially in an intro

such a fun beat, i could dance around my room to this

i think he just liked getting to repeat "re-erect it" over and over

hash pipe: 4.6/5 stars

oh okay raaaangeee!!!! is this a completely different singer

feels like such a different vibe than the first two

what happens when that 14yr old spiky haired kid gets older and gains access to marijuana lmao

i didn't know weezer could be angsty this is great

"you've got your problems / i've got my eyes wide / you've got your big g's / i've got my hash pipe" he's truly speaking words of wisdom

island in the sun: 5/5 stars

it is very hard for me to separate this song from the film that means so very much to me (aquamarine) so i simply will not be

the pure joy and light and love this song exudes its insane

i am instantly transported to a beach, in a bikini and big shirt, hair damp and sun-bleached, off a margarita and dancing in the sunset

i am obsessed with the guitar solo and need to learn how to play just for this

the way he sings "we'll never feel bad anymoreeee" !! IM HEALED

crab: .1/5 stars

okay continuing with the beach theme

brb googling what it means to crab?

according to the internet they're just complaining about the women. ok way to let me down after one of my favorite songs ever

is this just a man upset a woman won't sleep with him

"crab at the booty / 'taint gonna do no good" shutttt uppp ! just shut up (:

this is really gonna lower the album's average huge L for them

knockdown dragout: 2.5/5 stars

lyrics are kind of giving nothing, repetitive

i do enjoy the guitar, they always eat with that, but this is kind of boring

smile: 2.8/5 stars

i like his little belting when he sings "'cause i don't wanna break"

the guitar solos in this album !! even the short ones, so good

follows the common theme i see of wanting a girl to give him a chance...

simple pages: 2.8/5 stars

yup okay another song asking a girl to give him a chance - truly, i get it, and this is a valid form of art you go sir, i just do not see myself listening to this kinda music

i do enjoy pining every once in a while do not get me wrong

another bangin guitar solo

feels like i don't have much to say about this..

glorious day: 3/5 stars

angsty nerdy boy decides its time to finally make a move and ask a girl out

i like these kinds of weezer songs more, the "grittier" sound

giving angry high school band in a battle of the bands competition

o girlfriend: 2/5 stars

i think what i don't like about them is while their sound is good and i enjoy it, the lyrics are truly so generic and not special

i think I said this in an earlier post, and i am not trying to be disparaging, but an AI chatbot could've easily written this in 30 seconds- i just don't believe he's actually hurt and grieving a love, i want to feel the artists genuine pain, this does not sound like a man torn apart

sadly, i was very underwhelmed by this album. to my partner's credit, this is not his favorite of their work, so maybe i will give the rest of their music a try eventually, but for now that was very mid (aside from the perfection that is island in the sun) and i'd give the album 2.7/5 stars.

[deusexlachina]

Antisocial DAO Part 4 (Tower of Ishal): Meet the first two party members I respect

In which I forge a friendship with the bravest humans I have known: Soldier and Tower Guard.

Me and Alistair are given one job: Go to the Tower of Ishal and light a fire to signal Loghain's loyal troops to heroically save us. Unfortunately, darkspawn start besieging the bridge to the Tower, much as I burn bridges with those around me.

At the tower, I find two young men named "Soldier" and "Tower Guard." These are curious names, but I'm glad to meet some new companions. I can't wait to bond with them at camp!

For the first time, I have a full party, and here I will note that there are two ways of playing Dragon Age. One possibility is just to control your character and let your party's AI handle everything else. This is relatively immersive, and it's viable because this game has an excellent AI-crafting mechanic that is refined in DA2 and...is completely dropped in Inquisition.

The other way is to play it as Real-Time Tactics, using hotkeys to switch around who you're controlling. You can even click and drag, or press ctrl-A, to select everyone, in case you really want this story-rich medieval fantasy to have that Starcraft feel to it. I started the game with the first style, but I've moved on to the second due to the difficulty spike.

The Tower of Ishal is one of the hardest levels of the game for a number of reasons. You have at most one mage (the best class by a large margin), and it's too early for any of the really good builds to come online. Soldier and Tower Guard are also quite weak people. Nonetheless, I respect them more than Alistair: they do not judge me for my foreign ways, frightening magic, or the Miasma which follows my body everywhere. I will have to find non-combat roles for them later in the game. I don't need social skills to impress them. They fight by my side without a word.

There's a room in the Tower where you can free several dogs to help in the fight. They don't follow you further into the Tower. But darkspawn do follow you, and they will follow you right into a room full of hungry dogs. I repeat this process of luring enemies into Dog Range, slowly advancing my menacing battle line of pets.

I then meet the dogs' one weakness: area transitions. I will have to leave these good boys behind. Which is a shame, because I'm about to meet the reason this Tower is so hard: the Ogre.

The Ogre can fatally grab any of you in melee range, which would be bad if three of your party members were melee fighters. It also has AOE attacks with knockdown and preposterously large hitboxes - with its sinister powers, it can ram you without being anywhere near you. I Paralyze it as much as possible, which is very little, since it usually resists.

I must use the elusive tactics of the Dalish. That is, I run away almost the entire fight and hope it doesn't ram me while my redshirts try to backstab it and hope it doesn't turn around and grab them.

After a long fight, the Ogre has nearly killed me, Alistair and Tower Guard, but Soldier charges forward and deals the killing blow, getting an amazing animation where he knocks down the Ogre, jumps on it and stabs it in the heart.

I like this animation better than his usual one where he flails with his sword and somehow misses a huge Ogre right in front of him. It's a much better trick, this one. I wish he'd led with it. Nonetheless, Soldier has earned my respect. He may be a human, but his bravery and loyalty have carried us to victory. I would be proud to have him join me in my quest, along with his brother-in-arms, Tower Guard.

Unfortunately, they both die in a cutscene immediately.

RIP Soldier and Tower Guard